


I Care About You

by PoisonIvy213



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 14:11:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17346665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonIvy213/pseuds/PoisonIvy213
Summary: Keith and Lance were in a heated argument. Nothing special, right? Lance makes a snarky comment about Keith’s mullet, Keith barks out an angry retort, they transition into useless banter. Nothing that could seriously change their relationship for better or worse.Except this time, it’s different. This time, the topic of banter is an important subject that no one had the guts to resurface. This time, their useless banter wasn’t useless. It altered their relationship severely.If it’s for better or worse? Guess you just have to read to find out.(lmao you already know how it'll end)





	I Care About You

**Author's Note:**

> alright alright, i know the fandom is a huge mess right now, but... please accept my klance fic? this is going to take place before season 7 and all that shiz cuz thats where everything kinda went downhill.  
> (this is my first fic so please bare with me im getting better)  
> this fic takes place when keith almost sacrifices himself and lance dies momentarily but no one talked about it cuz the writers suck. it also takes place when keith comes back to voltron and all that suspense is kinda halted to leave room for this so ya. and i might have forgot the order of when that takes place.  
> (we're just gonna pretend that keith and krolia didnt leave for 2 years and it was more like 2 weeks k)  
> my life goal is to become a writer so constructive criticism is appreciated!! (im a smol bean pls be gentle).  
> aaaanyway, lets get right into the fic!

"You _dumbass_!" Keith exclaimed, opening the door to Lance's room.

Lance turned to Keith, startled by the rash voice.

Keith stormed in, his face contorted in rage. His thick eyebrows were furrowed, eyes crinkled at the edges to leave room for a wide snarl. His back was stiff as he clenched his fists, seemingly ready to attack anyone in his line of sight. 

"What the  _hell_ were you thinking!?" He said, advancing to Lance. It reminded him of a blazing wildfire, its threatening flames destroying every unsuspecting plot of land it could find. The fire both mesmerizing and dangerous, the embers dancing before his eyes in beautiful flourishes, and threatening to burn down the remnants of his body in an unforgiving blaze.

He was fucked, and he knew exactly why.

Lance stood up, afraid to confront the raging fire that threatened to bury his corpse in ashes. 

"I was doing what I thought was right." He said, his voice but a small drizzle in the presence of a raging fire.

"You could have  _died_ _!_ _"_   He screamed, his words forming a black haze of smoke that hovered over the atmosphere. Every word polluted the room, overwhelming Lance's lungs with the presence of Keith's rage. It was all that he could sense, the smoke giving him an upsetting sense of guilt.

But he didn't regret what he did. No, that guilt was only a natural response to the flames Keith brought. If the opportunity resurfaced, he would do it again. He would sacrifice himself again.

Keith pounced, grabbing a fistful of Lance's shirt and shoving him against the wall so he got a better look at the rage he brought upon himself. The fire brought heat to his skin, threatening to give him third-degree burns.

"You can't just throw yourself away like that!" He yelled, as if his face wasn't a few inches away from Lance's. "You can't just sacrifice yourself so easily, and act like you're... like you're..." He faltered, looking to the floor while heaving in a few breaths to calm his rising anger.

"Like I'm what?" Lance said, barely a small drop of water.

"Like you're replaceable." He finished, finding the right words. "Because you're not. I-we need you." He said, a determined fire in the midst of rage. 

But as the word presented itself, Lance realized Keith was a hypocrite. He acted as if Lance threw himself into battle without thinking about his life at stake, when really, Keith has done that countless times before. Hell, Keith became  _known_ for pulling stunts like that.

While staring into the smaller boy's large indigo irises, Lance recalled the countless moments Keith threw himself into suicidal situations without a second thought. The time Keith almost used his ship to crash straight into that impenetrable shield, before Lotor came to the rescue. How Shiro remembered his moments as a clone, talking about how Keith  _voluntarily_ chose to barrel straight into the abyss with him. 

With each rising thought, Lance's expression became more than a drizzle. He transitioned into a full-on downpour, his eyes crinkling to leave room for clenched teeth, mimicking Keith's expression in his own way.

"Oh, you wanna talk about being replaceable?" He growled, his rain faltering the flames of Keith's wildfire. "After the countless times you've sacrificed yourself for the sake of others, your yelling at  _me_  for thinking I'm replaceable?" 

Keith loosened his grip around Lance's shirt. His snarl became more of a scowl, the fire in his eyes decreasing to a small ember in the wake of Lance's storm. 

"Well.. we're not talking about me right now." He responded. Is that his best excuse?

"Oh, we're not talking about you?" Lance barked, grabbing Keith's biceps. "Then let's talk about you." 

He turned them over in one swift motion, pressing Keith against the wall with Lance's hand on his biceps and Keith's weak grip on Lance's shirt. 

Keith's eyes widened in surprised, the blood rushing to his cheeks. Lance noticed, seeing as their noses bumped with the distance between their faces.

Keith was overwhelmed by the sudden downpour, and struggled to gain control of the situation with his dimming embers. The seething anger Lance's eyes soaked him in was surprising. He didn't believe a boy like him, peppy, cocky, and silly, could hold so much anger beneath his layers of happiness.

Then again, Keith would be lying if he said he didn't hide a variety of emotions beneath his fiery glare

"You're a hypocrite." He growled, voice low but filled with a stormy might. He laughed, loud and boisterous, but lacking happiness. In the absence of happiness left disbelief. "Do you remember the amount of times we'd have to  _physically_ pull you back, just so you wouldn't pull some stupid sacrificial shit? Do you remember when you were about to  _kill yourself_   by plunging into that shield?!"

Keith lowered his eyes, the downpour decreasing his embers to smoke.

Lance laughed again, making Keith wince as he writhed in guilt. "Or do you just think you're invincible? Do you think all your actions are justified in some way? You think they all have a righteous explanation? Do you think we'll  _instantly_   forgive you for every shitty stunt you pull? Or when you  _left?_ _"_

Keith didn't speak. He didn't dare say a word, afraid the storm would rise with every word he uttered. He knew he didn't tell them the reason he left. Not completely. The vague explanation he provided caused more answers to be desired. He was scared, afraid that his reason would reveal everything. Everything he felt about Lance.

"Maybe you should've stayed in the Blade of Marmora." Lance said, his grip on Keith tightening, like his own body was contradicting his words. "With all that sacrificial shit they pull, you fit right in." 

Lance hadn't realized how much Keith meant to him until he left, his presence stripped from Lance's own. The way Keith brushed him off at their reunion hurt Lance more than he was willing to admit. He expected hugs, laughs of joy, maybe even a few tears. Guess the term, "you don't know what you have until it's gone" really plays out in this scenario.

Keith swallowed thickly, afraid his vulnerability was seeping through the walls he put up. But honestly, he was starting to care less about that. With how angry Lance seemed at Keith leaving Voltron, maybe he cared more than Keith thought.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, his voice oddly quiet. The sincerity in his voice made Lance's storm hesitate, empathy carving into his expression. "I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, or anything. I was just worried." 

To Keith, he sounded pathetic. He felt that he was coming up with excuses just to make Lance pity him.  _Dammit, Keith. For once could you not rely on instinct?_

Lance lifted a hand off of Keith's bicep and to his chin, forcing his violet gaze to meet a sea of cobalt blue. 

"Why did you leave?" He asked, the storm reducing to a small drizzle again. It left room for the fire to ignite again, the drizzle not too overwhelming, and the fire not too destructive. They coexisted.

"Because of you." He said, the previous storm leaving damage onto his wall. It was weaker, anticipated to break at any second.

Lance raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asked, his nimble fingers moving to subconsciously trace Keith's galra marking. 

"Well, after you came to talk to me about leaving your lion, I knew you doubted yourself. It was kind of obvious, at that point. When you called yourself 'the ninja sharpshooter' or whatever, I could tell you didn't really mean it. And since I wasn't exactly needed at that point, I thought leaving would help you find your worth."

Lance's gaze shifted, guilt drowning in the debts of his irises.  _He left because of me?_

Keith's hand moved to cup Lance's cheek. "It's not your fault." He said, reading Lance like an open book. "I thought it was for the best. I mean, did you see how much of a shit leader I was? We played right into Lotor's hands, all because of me." He chuckled, the memory still haunting him. "And do you remember who helped me fix it?" He tapped Lance's cheek with his pointer finger. "You." 

The wall finally gave in, a flood of emotions coating Keith's tender smile. It gave Lance pride, knowing that such a vulnerable smile was directed right at Lance himself.

"I'm sorry." Lance said, loosening his grip on Keith's bicep. 

Keith shook his head slightly. "Don't be sorry. It isn't your fault.  _Nothing_ is your fault." Keith bumped his forehead with Lance's.

Lance closed his eyes. The flood of emotions thrashed against the dam he locked them in, barrels of water seeping through the cracks. They broke, Lance deciding he didn't need them any longer. 

"I care about you, Keith." He whispered, closing his eyes. He hoped the message was clear to the Red Paladin.

 "Me too." Keith answered, a large ember of glee erupting within him. 

And that was their way of expressing their love to each other.


End file.
